#rb baiting

so i’ve never been one to criticize self diagnosis because hey, i get that not everyone has access to psychological care. my stance on the subject used to be ambivalence until i went in for psychological testing myself. now my stance is, “holy shit, please be careful if you’re seeking a professional diagnosis.”

i recently went to my campus’s psychological center to try and get an autism or adhd diagnosis because i struggle in school and i was hoping to apply for accommodations in the classroom. i signed my name onto the waitlist in september 2015 and received testing sometime around februrary 2016 (though it could have been january, my memory’s fuzzy.) i was supposed to receive my diagnostic report two weeks after testing was complete; this was around march, before my spring break. i got my diagnostic report two days ago (may april 27, 2016).

what i received was at best shoddy psych care. at worst, it was an invasion of my privacy. i signed a few waivers at the beginning which gave the university permission to use my self-reports and tests for educational purposes anonymously if they like; fine, i don’t have a problem with that. my diagnostic report contained graphic descriptions of my intrusive thoughts. had i told the professionals these thoughts in a confidential setting? yes, of course. did i expect to have a graphic description of these thoughts read aloud to me and written on my personal file? uh, that would be a no. 

you may recall i intended to seek accommodations with this report. needless to say, i have no intention of showing it to anybody now.